Rinkaiel, Part 2

[4uk4ata]

After a few tense seconds, Kalin slumped inelgantly backwards, apparently unconscious. The bird continued pecking the remaining seeds before flying away, soaring across the vineyard.

If Kalin were in a position to comment, he would have noted that this proved quite illuminating, though certainly not in the way he intended it to be. As it were, he limited himself to simply making strange noises and moved his limbs in a way that could be considered very... strange... every now and then. It was only a fair time later he woke up, and pushed himself to a sitting position. He looked at the seedbag in his hand and, with a quick motion, popped a few in his mouth.

[Dallen Andair]

"Thank you for the fine meal, ma'am. Best I've had in a long time." Smiling and completely honest about the statement, Tess handed money for the food (and a rather generous tip) to the woman in front of her, then stepped away.

She looked to her companion "Now, then. Where to?"

Sedona nodded "I'll lead."

The path was winding, but quick. It was only ten minutes or so before they reached the airstrip, Sedona leading Tess to a personal airship. TEss was wisely keeping her eyes forward and looking nonchalant rather than looking around. She'd worked with, around and occasionally against the Gerehr enough to know they were certainly being watched and likely already had crosshairs on them.

"Well then" Sedona stood straighter and made a discreet signal to someone, somehwere "I'll hand the contract and it's information over to this fine vessel's proprietor and see you aboard. After that, we'll have to part ways. I've got assignments elsewhere."

"Too bad. I was hoping for a familiar face during the flight. Ah well" she shrugged "Is the one I'm supposed to talk to here?"

Sedona's eyes tracked movement about the ship "Likely. I'll let them make the introductions themselves. Oh, and here's the initial payment" she handed Tess a small pouch "The rest of the agreed upon sum, and any extra earned through extra hazards not detailed in the contract, will be given after the mission is complete and your return to Rinkaiel."

Tess took the pouch and nodded, glancing up to someone not bother to hide on their own vessel "Allright then. I take it I'm essentially under my handler's command here? "

"Nothing near so military, but basically, yes" Sedona turned her attention to a man that had stepped off the airship and was walking towards them "Mind though, that they're likely not to trust worth a damn at first."

Tessa laughed "Of course. Hell, I don't trust myself sometimes."

[Graybeard]

[OOC: I'm not quite sure how to proceed here. Layla and family, including Ace, were about ready to fly back to Kugelheim (where a "mission" for Tess would be somewhat out of place, since the town is securely in the Gewehr's hands), leaving Joe as caretaker in Rinkaiel until they can all come back. Finding a "mission" compatible with that isn't easy. We should probably discuss this some more off line. Meanwhile, to keep things moving:]

"I have a funny feeling about this," Ace said. "I need to talk to them. Cover me. There's a rifle in the cabinet under my bunk." He disembarked to talk to the two women.

Layla didn't need to be asked twice. Parking her son on Faye's lap, she extracted the piece -- not as good as what she had at home, but it would do just fine -- checked it, clicked a round into the chamber, and found a hiding place at one of the windows. A moment later, she had the head of the taller, more mysterious woman in her sights. So help me Luminosita, you touch one damn hair on his head and I'll -- But Ace didn't seem particularly stressed by the interaction, although that didn't mean that Layla wouldn't be watching it carefully.

In fact, Ace recognized the seal on the envelope Sedona was handing him. Very few people had that seal -- very few. It certainly resolved his most immediate concerns. He opened the envelope and read the brief message inside.

"Oh, my," he said quietly.

[koshkoo]

((OOC: Getting some ranger to hunt Tess would stir things up nicely, blowing up the air ship (along the way) will give the group some side quest to look for materials to repair the ship as well. *evil grin*))

[Graybeard]

"Well, these seem in order," Ace said doubtfully. He still wasn't sure why he was supposed to be taking this woman with them, but orders were orders, and the seal left very little doubt that they were legitimate. "Come on and I'll get you introduced." He waved to the watchers on the airship.

Once aboard (and once Layla had stowed the rifle, although her pistol was still nearby), Ace did as he said he would. "This is Joe. He's not coming with us, right?" Joe nodded and wordlessly left, boarding the hack to drive out to the vineyard; some things needed doing there. "Layla, her mother Faye, her son Zachary. I'm Ace. And you are -- Tess, is that right?"

Thus occupied, they couldn't see that someone at ground level was loading another, very unexpected -- and unwanted -- bit of cargo onto the airship.

[4uk4ata]

((OOC: guys and girls, I might be... a bit sluggish in the next few days. Important exam coming up, and I haven't studied all that much ))

[Dallen Andair]

[ooc]I should be able to make my brain work tomorrow. It's been a hell week.[/ooc]

[4uk4ata]

Having eventually realized that maybe raw seeds should be used for other purposes than eating, Kalin shakes his head in confusion. He remembers seeing images of the inside of a building, of people speaking, of strange script - but he just can't make any sense of them. "Maybe later," he mutters.

Despite the change in management, he still has a job to do. He puts on his work clothes again and goes out to do his chores. Two hours pass uneventfully, until, somewhere around the early afternoon, Sharo ambles to his side, yawning deeply. For a second, Kalin feels a rising panic - what if he attacks? He will attack! He catches himself as his muscles tense. What in Luminosita's name came over him?

Sharo certainly doesn't look aggressive, but on the down side he isn't particularly interested in helping, either, so just lies down close and watches with a bored, sleepy look on his face. Sometime later he bristles for a second, baring a mouthful of teeth to one side.

"What's the matter?" Kalin asks

"******** cat. I'll break her neck one of these days." Sharo mutters, before lying down again.

"Didn't it..." Kalin starts, turning in the direction the dog faced. The lean, small tabby cat looks startled and darts to one side, disappearing behind the next few rows of vines. " Lum'nosita be my witness," Kalin mouths. It's the same cat, no doubt about it. It didn't look particularly hurt, either.

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Sorry to hear about the rough weeks, everybody; a little bit of stuff here to tide you over...]

"I've read this, and it's obviously legitimate, but that doesn't mean it makes sense," Ace told Tess as the airship's engines started to power up. The travel orders came from way up in the Gewehr hierarchy, but still. "What are you really doing here?"

As the airship lifted off, the small bit of extraneous cargo started to emit a faint beeping noise, inaudible to everyone aboard without magical enhancement, but clear enough to the person who'd put it there, since the main part of the beep was in the realm of the magical rather than the physical. He smiled to himself and headed off to the ruins of the elven temple to wait; this might be a while.

(Well, almost everyone aboard, anyway. Layla was back in the bunks, nursing her son ... and there was something in her embryonic, developing sensitivity to magic that was bothering her, like an itch in the middle of her back that she couldn't reach.)

---------

Joe was arriving at the vineyard at about the same time, and noticing Kalin at work. "Everything okay here?"

[EDIT: Retconned.]

---------

And also at about that time, Captain Kitaura was returning to the consulate, Rice's breakfast in his belly and two images in his mind -- images of ... inconvenient ... people.

[Dallen Andair]

Tess looked at Ace as he asked one of the more fateful (and dangerous) questions one could ask "Whats really going on? Honestly, I can't say. I don't do a lot of work with your people, but when I do, theres normally a pretty good reason behind it" she shifted her duffel on her shoulder "From what little I managed to get out of Sedona, your superiors are thinking that there's something bad in the wind, and that you and your team may either be already in the middle of it, or be in a position to make you so. So, they hired me in case things get wildly out of hand."

Ace did not seem please nor satisfied with this response. Tess sighed.

"Sir" Ace blinked at the address "I'm almost as in the dark with this one as you. All I know is that Sedona was pretty adamant that it had to be me hired on for this, and not some other mercenary. Frankly, I hope it's a complete overreaction on my employers part as to how much hitting power they think you may need and that the entire doing is uneventful."

She locked gazes with Ace "That said, they wanted me here and are paying well, so here I am. What little I got out of Sedona on the way here makes me think that the Powers That Be think that you may need me. So, come what may, I've been hired to help in whatever means you and yours think is necessary."

She set her duffel down "I'm guessing the Gewehr are sticking to the outside mercs they know are dependable. Can't be too security conscious, I guess."

[ooc]Not my best, but I'm tired Tess doesn't know why she was hired. She only knows that "They" want her to do: Support Ace's team. And I just realized I repeated myself there. Corrected.[/ooc]